Fiat itself took a 20% share in Chrysler last summer as part of a deal to help the US carmaker emerge from bankruptcy. Five months earlier, Marchionne said that many in the auto industry viewed a Fiat-Peugeot combination as a “marriage made in heaven”.

Fiat makes about 2m cars annually, while Chrysler manufactured 1.3m last year, a combined figure that still falls short of Marchionne’s contention that to survive as a global automaker, a company needs to produce at least 5m cars a year. Peugeot sold 3.2m vehicles in 2009.

Marchionne CEO reiterated that he expects Fiat to boost its stake in Chrysler to 35% within two years as it meets industrial targets laid out in an agreement. These include building a fuel-efficient engine in the US and expanding Chrysler’s sales outside North America.